Lady Liberty
by Comicgeek98
Summary: Carter Rogers has been adopted by non other than Captain America. A few days after being abducted by Viper and Loki, her life is shown new corners in the Avenger member's lives.
1. Chapter 1

**Super sorry for the uber long wait. I lost a chapter! I noticed I never posted it! Sorry for that to. I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this. Give me a break, I was twelve! (Not any more) So here it is again :)**

* * *

My name is Carter Rogers. I have golden hair and baby blue eyes, a little like my dad. My dad is Steve Rogers (Captain America). I wasn't legally adopted by him. He came into my room and lay down next to me on my bed.

"You were a science project for two weeks. A group of scientist called Hydra, wanted to see if my DNA could change another person's DNA. The problem with their project was they got my DNA from a medical waste bin and took you from an orphanage. S.H.I.E.L.D had been tracking the group of scientists. You had just turned four at the orphanage when they took you. They didn't get much of my DNA and had to use it on a smaller person. That was when they learned about you. One of the scientists told us you were dying and they did the project on you to save your life. Sadly they were lying about why they did the project, but they did save your life. I snuck into their hideout and found you sleeping on the floor. They had put you in a prison uniform that was too big for you. I woke you up to ask you questions, but when you saw me you wrapped our arms around my neck. I heard someone coming so I grabbed you and ran out of the hideout. I didn't tell S.H.I.E.L.D about you because I thought they might put you back into the orphanage. Plus, I didn't know if my DNA had changed yours. If the project had worked, you wouldn't have known how to control your powers in an orphanage. I took you here. You slept next to me at night. I surrounded you with pillows so you wouldn't fall out of my bed. Soon I got you a toddler bed and put it up in here. I got all the kid essentials: clothes, toys, food, and books, and I took care of you. It was hard when you were younger; you would want to come with me to fight the bad guys. I had to call a babysitter and trust me, I really didn't want to call one. I didn't trust the girls I called because I thought they would go digging around in my stuff. Every time I came back home you would run to me. The babysitter would be sitting in our rocking chair, texting or whatever you call it. After I had paid her and she left, I would put my bag away and help you get ready for bed. You would make me tell you of how we beat the bad guy as a bedtime story. I would rock with you in our rocking chair and tell you the story. After you fell asleep, I would tuck you into bed and then I would go to bed. Sometimes during a thunderstorm, you would check in on me."

He laughed at the thought and continued, "One day you showed me some costume designs that you thought would look cool for when you started crime fighting. You named yourself; Lady Liberty. I still can't figure how you came up with that name," he looked at me for an answer.

"I didn't want to copy your name off by calling myself, Lieutenant America. I think the Statue of Liberty is pretty neat," I punched him in the shoulder lightly.

He smiled, "I wouldn't have minded. I think you should change your superhero name."

"I like Lady Liberty, I think it suits me," I said.

"Well anyways, I had Tony make your costume that way it had more modifications than mine. Bruce equipped it with bullet resistant metal. Hawkeye made arrows a little like his, but not as fancy. And lastly Black Widow made sure your suit looked like it was for a girl, not for a man. She thought we had downgraded it because it looked too old for you. I agreed. I wasn't about to let a girl under my authority wear something too old for her," he said.

My costume has deep blue long sleeves with white stars down the sides of the sleeves and red and white stripes down my abdomen. I have a single star below my collar bone. I wear a rust red skirt with white stripes aligned with my top and deep blue leggings. Also I wear rust red boots, gloves and belt. I carry a bow and arrow. I always wear my hair in a braid that way my hair is out of my face. The costume the guys had made didn't have a skirt but pants, was short sleeved, a low neckline and the boots had heels. I am so glad dad made the changes.

"I didn't like the costume idea Tony had with that mask with broken wings on the side," I said.

"I agree, it looked like he was making fun of my helmet," he said.

"Oh just finish your story already" I said dramatically.

"Alright, after everyone had chipped in to get you on the team, Nick Fury decided otherwise. He thought he would get in a heap of trouble for letting a ten year old girl onto the team. So we convinced him to keep you on the ship and listen in to our communicators and that..."

"That is where I am today! But I work on the field when big crimes happen," I finished his sentence.

"Right, I thought I should just tell you, the team is taking a vote on whether you can join the team or not. Fury changed his mind now that you are thirteen," he said.

He got up and started to walk out the door.

"Dad," he turned around, "I love you, just thought you should know," I said.

He smiled, "I love you to, goodnight."  
He closed the door. I might be an Avenger at this time tomorrow. It blew my mind! I thought about Tony's son. Would he be joining to? I didn't think he had a suit. Tony had a daughter to, but she didn't do much either. They always stayed in the Stark tower, only leaving when they had school. I didn't even know their names. I got dressed in my pajamas and put my hair in a ponytail. I climbed back into bed and fell asleep.

That night I had a nightmare like no other. I saw people with gas masks and yellow jumpsuits. They surrounded me. One of them stuck a needle into my arm. I tried to scream, but I felt something over my mouth. They had tied me down to a table and stepped away from me. Sharp shooting pain went throughout my body. I wriggled around, trying to break the straps that held me down. The pain finally stopped and I stopped wriggling. The people filed out of the room, removing their gas masks. Someone took off the straps. I slid off the table and landed on the floor with a thud. I closed my eyes. I didn't fall asleep, but I came close to. Someone shook my shoulder. I looked up and saw Captain America. I hugged him. I was scared and I didn't know what else to do. He started to say something, but a light turned on at a desk nearby. He picked me up and hid me with his shield. He ran all the way out to a S.H.I.E.L.D hovercraft. That was the last thing I saw. I woke up and screaming. I had to catch my breath because I had been crying so hard. Dad was holding me down.

"What happened," he asked letting me go.  
"I had a nightmare, about the night you found me. I never could remember what happened that night until now," I replied sitting up.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault. I should not have told you that story before you went to bed," he said. I wiped my tear stained face, "Don't beat yourself up too much dad. I was bound to have a nightmare like this one sooner or later."

He hugged me tight and I hugged him back. Then he pulled away from me. He kissed me on the forehead and left the room. I had to flip my pillow because the side of my pillow that I was sleeping on was soaked. I lay down and fell asleep after a little while. But soon I woke up again. I felt my mouth watering tremendously. I ran to the hallway bathroom and retched into the toilet. My whole body was shaking violently. Dad walked into the bathroom, startled to see me there. He sat on the edge of the bathtub and rubbed my back. We stayed in there for three minutes. I finally stopped and sat back on my heels.  
"Do you think you can go back to sleep," he asked.  
All I could do was nod my head. I was afraid if I opened my mouth that I would retch again. Dad picked me up off the floor and took me to his bedroom. He left the door opened in case I needed to get to the bathroom fast. He got a wet washcloth and laid it on my forehead. He got under the covers with me and stroked my hair. I fell asleep and actually slept till the morning.

* * *

The next morning was not a regular morning. Dad had made pancakes and had left them on a plate near the stove. I took two off the plate next to the stove, but something was missing. I looked around the room. Dad wasn't there.

"He's probably getting dressed in the bathroom, Carter," I told myself.  
I sat down and ate my pancakes, but dad never came in. I put my plate in the sink and looked around the room to find a note. Dad normally leaves a sticky note if he leaves, but there wasn't one. The bathroom door was opened. Dad wasn't in his room or the living room. Dad had given me an Avenger communicator when I started working on the S.H.I.E.L.D hovercraft. I sat down at the kitchen table and placed the communicator in front of me. The communicator is disguised as a makeup container. The thing that doesn't make it look like makeup is the capital A on the top. I stared at the communicator for ten minutes when it finally started buzzing. I opened it.  
"Carter reporting," I said.  
Tony appeared, "Where's Cap?"  
"Not here, I was going to ask you the same thing," I replied.  
"I'm at Stark tower. Why would he be here," he asked.  
"I don't know, an Avengers meeting or something," I said weakly.  
"Well, he told me last night that I needed to talk to you about something," he said.  
I replied, "I had a nightmare about the night Captain found me. After that I threw up."  
"Ok, are you sure you didn't just eat bad sushi or something," he asked being sarcastic.  
"No, I have never had sushi," I said.  
"That you know of," he said.  
"What do you mean?" I asked scooting to the edge of my seat.  
"The scientist could have erased some of your memories," Tony replied.  
"Should I meet you at Stark tower or at the hovercraft?" I asked.  
"Stark tower would be best I think," he said.  
"Signing off, tin man," I said. Tony started to make a smart remark, but I closed the communicator before he could.  
I walked through the house one last time, before going into my room. I changed into jeans and an Iron Man t-shirt. I thought since I was going to see Tony, I might as well wear something nice. I put my red converse on and grabbed my leather jacket before heading toward the bus station. Remember I am only thirteen, so there is no other way for me to get to Stark tower from my house when my dad is gone. I was used to it by now. I knew the bus routes by heart and always managed to make small talk with the bus drivers when they were waiting on passengers. I got on the first bus of the day, said hello to Jay (the bus driver) and waited till my stop was called. It takes about a half hour to get to Stark tower from my house. I normally watched the trees and cars outside the window. On a rare occasion I would talk to a small child that sat next to me. All most all the boys like my dad and the Hulk. Most girls like Black Widow and Iron man. Some girls don't even care for them. My stop was finally called and I stepped off. I walked to Stark towers. Walking in the front doors always takes my breath away. Pepper met me at the elevator. She gave me a hug before stepping on the elevator.  
"I heard you can't find your dad," she said.  
"I got up this morning and the only thing greeting me was pancakes," I replied.  
She laughed. The elevator opened and left us off at Tony's main floor. His children were standing side by side, getting a lecture it looked like.  
"From now on, you will report to me whenever you feel drained of power. Kids, I am trying to make life better for you two, ok? It's bad enough that Sandy got hurt," he said.  
"You sound like Bruce," the boy commented.  
Tony saw me, "Kiddo, maybe you can knock some sense into my offspring."  
"Not my job. That is a journey you will have to endure by yourself," I replied.  
"Do you ever smile?" he asked.  
I smiled for him.

"So, what's wrong with you," he asked.

"Broken childhood and bad dreams, the usual. Also," I held up my pointer finger, "I lost my father."  
"Well I bet you did not know about the tracking device in his shield," he said walking backwards to his computer.  
"No actually I didn't," I replied  
"I'm pretty sure Cap doesn't even know," his daughter chipped in.  
His son looked at the floor and suppressed a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

"Who are these people," I asked.

"Offspring, introduce yourselves please," Tony said from behind the blue screen.

"Hi!" the girl took a step closer to me, "My name is Alex. How old are you?"

"I'm thirteen," I replied reluctantly.

"Me too!" she said in a high voice.

"I'm Howard," the boy held out his hand and I took it, "nice to meet you."

"Howard!" Tony hollered from behind the screen, "You need to smile!"

Howard smiled, showing his pearly whites. Tony's screen started to show all these charts and maps. He typed, slid and zoomed in on each one.

"Hey Carter, you might want to go do something else. This will take awhile. The tracking device is super old and I need to crack some codes," he said never taking his eyes off the screen.

"She can come with me," Alex said. She started walking down a hallway, so I followed her.

"Where are we going," I asked.

"Training room, Howard and I come down here to train or blow something up," she replied.

I saw Howard's shadow behind me. She opened the door and held it open it for me. I thanked her and looked at the room. I held the door open for Howard and our hands brushed. I pulled my hand to my chest and kept walking. It felt weird touching someone else's hand other then my dad's. Alex and Howard walked to two circles on the floor. I took my bag off my shoulder and got out my boots, gloves, belt, and my bow and quiver full of arrows. I always wear my uniform under my clothes. I slipped off my outer clothes and put them into the bag. I adjusted my belt, and put everything on. It doesn't take me long to change. I looked at Howard and Alex, and they were standing there with their arms crossed over their chests.

"Took you long enough," Alex said in her robotic voice.

"Lay off Alex. She doesn't have robots putting on her suit," Howard defended me.

She walked to one of the screens. I walked over to Howard. "Thanks, I'm normally the one changed and ready to go before most people."

The room changed into the warehouse from my dream. The table that I laid on in my dream and the desk was there.

"Where are we," I asked.

"Outside of Brooklyn I think. I don't know the exact location," Alex replied.

"Why do you ask, Carter," Howard asked.

"I was just curious, that's all," I said and shrugged.

He looked at me then looked around the warehouse.

"This simulation is a 'break in' scenario. This one is from two thousand two." He laughed. "I was five then. Dad called the group that hid out here the Mad Scientists."

"My dad found me here. I was four at the time, and he said I was dying," I said.

Howard looked at Alex then back at me.

"Let me guess, that is yours." She pointed at something behind the desk. I walked over and saw a small pink blanket. It had the name Emily stitched into it at the bottom corner. I looked at it, trying to remember it from my dream.

"I don't remember this. I had a dream last night about the night my dad found me. But this wasn't in my dream. Unless they took me from the orphanage when I was sleeping, that could explain me not remembering."

A man in a yellow body suit and mask walked to the desk and sat down. He picked up a phone and dialed. He started talking, "The child is here. Make sure S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't find out about this. We might have a good alibi with saying the child is dying. Which she is, and we still don't know why." He paused, listening to the reply. "I want the area secure tonight. We will continue with the procedure as planned. Do not disappoint me, Julius."

He hung up and left the room.

"Why couldn't he see us," I asked.

"This is a simulation. We are just observing something that was recorded. We should be hiding, but since you have a connection with this mission, we can just observe for now and sneak around later," Alex said.

"Should we..." I was interrupted by a man walking in with a small child. He laid the child down on the floor then picked up the blanket and set it next to her. The child was sleeping and had her back turned towards me. Blood matted her hair and her clothes were torn in so many places. Alex looked at her then back at me.

"She doesn't look like you. She has dark hair and freckles," Alex said.

I thought about it for awhile. I snapped my fingers, "I know why, the scientist changed my DNA to be somewhat like my dad's DNA. They used a replica of the Super Soldier serum on me," I said.

Howard clenched his fists. "Children should not be science projects. No matter what the reason, or what the child has done. Some people just make me mad."

"Howard, the good thing is they were stopped and now they can't make children science projects anymore," Alex said.

"I turned out fine. They scarred me for life, but I am fine," I said laying my hand on his shoulder.  
He looked at me through his mask and then looked back at the child.

"End simulation," Howard said glancing towards me.

Tony walked in the room and motioned for me to go over to him. I looked back at Alex and Howard then walked over to him.

"What is it?" I asked.

"We have a problem, your dad's signal was found at the warehouse where he found you," he said and put his hand on my shoulder.

"So we go to the warehouse and get him back. I don't see the problem," I said.

"Pepper and I think it's a trap to get to you. I will send Howard and Alex to check out the situation, but..."

I interrupted him, "But nothing, I am going with them no matter what you do. Steve is the closest thing I have to a father!"

He let his hand fall to his side. He looked me in the eyes. "I know for a fact Cap would not allow you to go. So guess what," he gestured to the whole room, "this will have to be your home for awhile."

Before I could argue anymore, he left the room. I looked around the training room. Howard and Alex were gone! They had left while Tony talked with me. I guessed that the simulation they showed me was for them to learn more about the warehouse. I went into the separate room where I changed and got my bag. I fished my folded bow out of the bag and snapped it into place. I dumped my bag out onto the floor. I couldn't find my arrows. I folded my bow and laid it on the floor. I put the contents from my bag back into my bag and put my bow in the side pocket. I slid the bag on my shoulder and walked to the main room of the tower. Tony and Pepper were sitting on the couch watching a news update. I stood behind them.

The news reporter was standing in front of a burning building. "That's right, a rogue robot from Stark corporations," I looked at Tony, "attacked Captain America. The robot followed him here and blew up," she motioned toward the building, "half of the building behind me."

"When did we lose a robot," Pepper asked Tony.

"We didn't, but I bet Justin Hammer did," he replied.

A robot, taller than my dad, walked out of the warehouse with something slung over his shoulder. It looked like a sack. It didn't get far before Howard and Alex stopped it. They didn't fire at it though they were ready to.

"Fire at the open spot on its knee," Tony said into an earpiece.

Alex and Howard did as they were instructed. The robot stopped in its tracks. Alex pulled its hand off the sack and Howard picked it up in his arms. Howard flew out of sight from the camera's view. Alex carried the robot the opposite way of Howard. I stepped away from the couch. A thought ran through my head, but I forced it out. I would not let myself think that my dad was in that sack. I would not think that I would find him in there. I walked to the training room and then into a separate room. I sat my bag down and walked to the corner of the room. I sat down, hugged my knees to my chest and stayed there until I heard Howard and Alex come into the training room. That was about ten minutes later.

"What's in the sack," I asked.

Howard looked at Alex then answered, "We honestly don't know."

"Then you would have no problem opening it?"


	3. Chapter 3

Howard sat the bag down and opened it. Ten syringes and small bottles of red liquid came tumbling out. The rest was styrofoam.

"A giant robot went after something it can't even use," Alex noted.

"Why would Justin Hammer need," Howard picked up a bottle, "it doesn't even say what's in here."

"Did you guys see my dad there?" I asked nervously.

"No, we think he was there, but we didn't see him," Howard replied.

"Then I am going back and I am going to find him," I said turning to get my bag.

Howard grabbed my wrist, "Not unless our dad says it's ok for you to go."

I wriggled out of his hold. I grabbed my bag and walked to the elevator. Alex followed me, but Howard walked away from me. Tony and Pepper tried to stop me. I kept walking and got to the elevator. All of them stopped at the elevator door. I hit the first floor button and as the door was closing, Howard slipped between them and stood next to me. He took hold of my shoulder and hit the emergency stop button. The elevator halted to a stop.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He wasn't wearing his armor so his voice was normal again. "Trying to keep you safe, Carter. I don't want you getting trapped. Your dad may be the bait for you. I know you want to help him, but what they did to you," he looked at the floor, "is unacceptable."

His gaze went back up to me. This was the first time I noticed how tall he was. His brown hair and blue eyes seemed to stand out more than before. He wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me. I hugged him back. I had no idea he even existed until two weeks ago and here he is hugging me and I don't know what to do next!

"Howard, come with me to save my dad," I said.

"I would, but my dad would melt my armor for not following his orders," he replied.

I pulled away from him, "Then hide my tracks. I'm going back to the warehouse."

"Use the communicator in your bag, and your arrows are at the front desk. I'll go with you to get them," he said following me.

The man at the front desk took up ten minutes of my time, just to get twenty arrows. I slid the strap to my quiver on my shoulder and headed back home. I walked along the streets, I felt like it would be weird for Lady Liberty to be riding the bus. I should be jumping roof to roof, but after what happened today I felt drained of my energy. Some kids swarmed me from time to time. People took pictures and I just kept walking. I finally got home. I threw my bag in the rocking chair and got the communicator out. It was different from the one my dad gave me. It was like a bluetooth earpiece, like the one Tony had. It was white and had a red light that was flashing. I put it on my ear and rubbed it; suddenly my dad's voice was talking in my ear.

"I won't tell you where she is." Then he screamed in pain.

A woman's voice with a thick German accent said, "You don't have to say anything; we are tracking her right now. Just a few minutes ago she left the Stark tower."

I started breathing heavily. Whoever she was, had my dad and now had been tracking me. Dad was breathing heavy, and I heard footsteps get farther and farther away.

"Dad! Can you hear me," I desperately asked.

"Carter, where are you?" his voice was weak.

"I'm at home; the question is: where are you? Where did you go this morning?"

"I'm not telling you where I am. I went to the scientist's warehouse this morning," he replied.

"Dad, please, just tell me where you are. I'll tell Tony where you are and he can send help, he can get the Avengers involved!" I persisted.

"No Carter, I need to do this by myself," he said.

"No you don't! You are not a lone soldier; you are part of a team. Dad, tell me where you are, please!" I was on the verge of tears.

There was a pause, "I'm at Long Beach. I don't know where exactly, and I lost my shield. I think it's still at the warehouse.

"I'll tell..." I started. There was a pounding at the door. "Dad, hang on."

I grabbed my bow and my arrows and walked toward the door. I looked through the peephole to see Hydra drones. They were green and kept pounding on the door. I backed away and looked in the backyard. Hundreds of them filled the yard.

I tried to sound as calm as I could, "Dad, I'm in big trouble. Hydra drones have surrounded the house. I don't know what to do. There are too many to take on by myself."

"Stay calm for one thing, but find a possible exit. Did you check the bathroom window?" he asked.  
I ran down the hall to the bathroom. The window was a skylight in the ceiling. I jumped on the counter and looked out the window.

"There aren't any in the sky," I said, "just on the ground."

I heard a crash; they had broken down the front door. I pushed against the glass, slowly it moved out of place. It slipped and crashed against the floor.

"Sorry dad, no more skylight," I grunted pulling myself onto the counter.

He laughed weakly, "I can live without it."


	4. Chapter 4

I pulled myself up onto the roof. The Hydra drones broke down the front door and were now pounding on the bathroom door.

"I'm on the roof," I said.

"Good, now try to find a way off without being spotted," dad replied.

I looked around. No fire escape was high enough. Two large Hydra drones about the size of Hulk came up the side of the building. I noticed them.

"Crap," I mumbled.

One reared its hand back and struck me across the face. The hit sent me flying backwards onto the roof. My lip had split, so I licked the blood away.

"Now I'm angry," I said.

I held my hands together and ran at the nearest drone. I threw my hands down on top of it. The drone crumpled underneath me. The second drone wasn't so diligent. It seemed to adapt to me. I turned around to get the second one, but it was a step ahead. It started throwing punches at me. I managed to dodged a few, but it still hit and man did it hurt! I kicked it in the chest and it started to fall off the building. I was too close. The drone grabbed my leg before falling off the roof. I grabbed one of my arrows and jabbed it into the roof. I kicked at the drone, but it wouldn't let go. My arrow snapped and some fell out of my quiver. The drone smashed against the ground then I fell. I managed to fall in the right spot as to not break any bones, but a sharp pain went through my left side. I looked down and found one my arrows sticking out. Drones by the dozens fell out of the sky and landed. They surrounded me. I held my fists up in a fighting stance and was ready for battle, but it never came. My head pounded and I started to see spots. I crumpled to my knees. The nearest drone picked my up by my arm and flew into the sky. I heard my dad ask what was going on. The S.H.I.E.L.D hovercraft appeared in the sky. That was the last thing I saw before blacking out.


	5. Chapter 5

I felt a shaky hand combing my hair. My head hurt and I couldn't move very well. I tried to sit up, but someone gently pulled me back down. I opened my eyes and saw the Avengers leaning against a glass wall. My dad wasn't sitting with them. I was leaning against his shoulder. It was his shaky hand combing my hair. There was something on his glove. I picked his hand up and when I put it back down my hand was red.

I asked in a weak voice, "Are you bleeding?"

Everyone looked up at me.

"No, he isn't," Natasha said.

It hit me, the arrow from my side. I looked at the arrow, the blood on the floor, then back to my dad's hand.

"Did you try to take it out?" It hurt to talk.

"Yeah, that sucker is stuck in there," Clint said.

A Hydra drone came into our glass cage. A Hydra agent walked behind it.

"It's time for the girl to be examined," the agent said.

Dad protectively wrapped his arms around my middle.

"She can barely talk, what makes you think she will be able to walk," Tony asked.

"Captain America will carry her. And if he does not cooperate, the girl will be eliminated," the agent replied.

Dad stood up and picked me up in his arms. I cringed when he did it. My side felt like it was on fire.

"It'll be ok. They are going to try to take the arrow out," he explained.

He followed the Hydra agent.

"Dad, you aren't going to leave me with them are you?" I asked looking up at him.

"Not unless they force me to leave. I wouldn't leave you alone with the enemy of my own free will," he replied.

The agent led us to a table similar to the one in my dream. Dad laid me on the table and the agent started to strap me down.

My dad stopped him, "Are the straps really necessary?"

"We don't have any morphine, so she will be in a lot of pain. She might break the straps anyway," he replied harshly.

The agent finished strapping me down and examined the arrow. He cleaned the area around the arrow and ripped it out. I screamed in pain. I felt my blood stream down my side. My dad combed my hair with his fingers.

"Captain America, stay with her. I need to get some gauze pads." He looked at me, "Try not to bleed out while I'm gone."

I looked at dad for comfort. "I ran out of sticky notes to leave you this morning. I must have worried you sick," he said.

"Yeah you did. Where did you go this morning?" I asked in a weak voice.

"I was on my way to Stark towers to talk to Tony about your dream when Hydra attacked down at Long Beach. So I had to go there instead," he replied looking at the wound.

The agent came back and put the gauze pads on my wound and then taped them down.

Another agent with a drone came up behind dad, "Captain, it is time for you to go back to your cell."

He took my hand and squeezed it. Then he followed the other agent back to the glass cell. I looked over at the others. All of them were watching me through the glass. I looked at the agent who took out my arrow; he was tapping a needle with red liquid in it. He stuck it into my arm and injected the liquid. It took awhile until I started wriggling in pain. The pain stopped and the agent untied the straps. I still couldn't walk well. A drone walked in front of me and I leaned on it as I walked. Dad caught me as we got back to the glass cell. Natasha came next to me and took my arm and put it over her shoulders. The agent threw a pillow in the cell and it hit Bruce. I could have sworn his eyes flashed green.

"She needs rest for now. We will come in twice a day to inject the Super Soldier Serum," the agent said.  
"How long are you keeping us held prisoners?" Thor asked.

"As long as it takes to get all the serum into her," he pointed at me. He left the cell and closed the door behind him.

Thor handed dad the pillow and he put it under my head. Tony walked over to me and took his helmet off.

"Well, he did a crappy job of fixing you up," he said.

"What do you mean," dad asked.

"He just took the arrow out, she could have an infection," Bruce explained.

I fought to keep my eyelids open. Before they closed, Tony looked at me. I saw the fear on his face. If I woke up, I was going to ask if they ever voted about whether or not I would be on the team. I felt dad combing my hair again. Natasha took my hand in her hand and Clint . Bruce and Tony examined my wound. I heard Thor pacing the floor. I wasn't asleep, but I wasn't really awake either. I heard the cell door open and footsteps get closer and closer.


	6. Chapter 6

"Avengers, it is time you all get your own cells. They are all made of glass, so you will be able to see what we do with the girl," the voice sounded female.

"At least let Captain stay with her. She is scared and hurt, she needs someone next to her," Bruce said.

"Very well, Thor will stay with her. Everyone else will come with us," the agent replied.

Dad kissed me on the forehead and Natasha squeezed my hand before they left. I heard their footsteps getting farther away. I didn't want dad to leave, but I couldn't say anything. Thor sat down next to me. He started combing my hair like my dad does.

"What happened… to your hammer," I asked.

"The soldiers took it. You should save your strength by not talking," he replied obviously wanting the conversation to end.

"I need to… know, did you all ever vote… on if I should be… on the team… or not?" I managed.

"If you think you are going to perish, you are wrong, but if you must know, we did vote. We have grown fond of you and of course the vote was yes."

I managed a weak smile, "Thank you."

He continued to comb my hair. After a few hours I was able to get up and walked around. Natasha had secretly picked the lock. She waited till night when all the guards left to go to the other's cells and pick the locks. She showed me how to pick the locks, so I went around and helped. We got everyone out, but couldn't find all of their weapons. We found dad's shield and Natasha's guns. Tony alerted S.H.I.E.L.D that we were trapped. Fury said he was sending a squad to help us. We all sat in our cells when the guards were around and unlocked the locks whenever they took me out of my cell. The agents were glad to see that I didn't wriggle in pain when they injected the red liquid into me. My body did tingle, like my body fell asleep. They finally let my dad sit with me in my cell and Thor got his own cell. I think Thor was uncomfortable with me. Dad and I sat at the back of our cell. We waited till the guards left and we got out. We met with everyone else in the middle of the room.

"What's the status on the squad Fury sent us," dad asked.

"They're here and waiting for an order from us," Tony replied.

"We should tell them to surround the place and take down anyone who tries to stop them," Natasha said.

"That might work, but we don't have a way to contact them. The agents found out I contacted Fury, so they shut down all communications," Tony said.

"I can sneak out and tell them," I said.

They all looked at dad for a response. He just looked me in the eye and didn't say anything.

"Please, be careful. Going into battle is worse than falling of a roof," he said.

"She will have to crawl through the air ducts," Bruce said, "but how do we get her up there?" He pointed toward the air duct in the tall ceiling.

"The same way Cap and I train, she jumps off the shield and Cap will give her a push," Natasha said.

"Then he will just throw his shield up to her and she will catch it," Hawkeye chipped in.

"Ok, let's do it then," I said.

I took a couple of steps back, and then ran toward him. I heard the door open behind me. I jumped off the shield and felt dad's push underneath me. I reached the air duct and held on to the handles. I pushed the air filter inside with my feet and climbed in. I stuck my hand out for the shield; dad tossed it up to me. I heard the shout of an agent. I put the air filter back in place to make it look like I wasn't there. I watched as the agent harshly guided all of them back into their cells and counted them all. The air duct was so big; I could stand up in them. I saw light at the end of one and walked silently towards it. Outside I saw a small army of S.H.I.E.L.D agents. I kicked the air duct filter out and jumped out of the air duct. I landed and walked over to the agents, sliding dad's shield onto my back.

I talked with the Captain, "We need you to surround the building with your agents. Be ready to take anything or anyone down that wants to stop you."

"Why don't you lead us in? You know the place better than we do," he said.

"I don't know how to lead an army, and I don't know this place that well. I was knocked out when Hydra drones brought me here," I replied.

"Fair enough, I'll handle it," he said.

I turned around to the building and I didn't recognize it. Someone came up behind me and braided my hair. After she was done, I turned around and saw Agent Hill.

"Thank you, Mariah," I said.

"No problem. I know you always have your hair either in a braid or a ponytail. Have you ever thought of getting it cut short?" she asked.

"Yeah I have, but I don't think I am going to do it," I replied.

The Captain came back over, "Viper has been spotted in the room with the Avengers."

"I'll go back in. Is there a way we can communicate while I'm inside," I asked.

"Use your communicator from the Avengers," Agent Hill said.

"It got confiscated while I was knocked out," I replied.

"Then don't communicate, just do your own thing and we will do ours," the Captain said.

I nodded and walked back to the air duct. I jumped up and pulled myself into it. I took the shield off of my back and held it in front of me. It felt weird holding the shield; it was always dad's thing. I got back to the 'containment room' I called it. I looked through the cracks and saw everyone lined up facing a woman wearing all green, even her hair was green. I guessed she was Viper. She was the woman I heard over dad's communicator.

She started talking in her thick German accent again, "Where is the girl?"

"Gone, she escaped and she is not coming back," Natasha said.

Viper walked over to her, "Actually she is right behind me, in the air ducts."

She looked at me through the air filter. I took a step back and walked silently out of sight. I thought of how I was going to save the Avengers. Viper obviously had some kind of way of tracking me. I didn't have much time to think. The air duct broke in half and I started sliding down toward the ground. I stopped myself by pressing my hands against the sides of the duct. Slowly I slid down and looked out the broken air duct. Viper was holding a gun toward Natasha. I looked down at the floor; I still had a long way to go till I hit the floor.

"Jump out of there, or Black Widow will be in many places at once," she demanded.

I looked around to see anything I could hang onto. Viper got a little impatient and blasted the other side of the air duct. It fell with me inside. I pushed against the top of the air duct to keep my balance. When it hit the ground my knees gave out and I fell. I slid an arrow in place on my bow. I looked around the corner at Viper and she fired at me. Most of her shots hit the shield. I fired an arrow at her gun. It landed in her gun. She looked at the arrow in shock. I fired another and it scraped her hand, making her drop the gun. I threw dad his shield and I advanced on Viper. She looked scared now.

"Please! Have mercy, I will do anything you want," she shielded her face with her hand.

I looked at dad, "I thought this would be harder."

"Why did you hold us captive," Thor asked.

"I didn't want you all captive!" She stood up. "I wanted the girl so we could use the rest of our Super Soldier Serum on her and use her as our weapon! And that is still possible."

She ran towards a door behind her. Clint shot an arrow at the door handle, but Viper was already gone. I ran after her. There were stairs going up toward the roof. I continued up the stairs and slid an arrow in place and held it at my side. At the top of the stairs was a door to the roof. I kicked it open and found Viper was climbing a rope ladder to a helicopter. My arrow broke one side of the ladder and the other side snapped. Viper fell then scrambled to her feet.

"You should thank me, girl," she said. "I have given you powers greater than Captain America's. You and I could have had a beautiful empire. But you deny greatness." She ran at me, but I jumped off her back.

"I will deny greatness if it's the right thing to do. I would never join someone as power hungry as you. But I do have questions for you. Why did you use me as a guinea pig? You could have used someone else, but you used someone that was dying?" I asked disgusted.

She turned to me, "Have you ever wondered who your real parents were? Has it ever occurred to you that you look like Captain America because my scientists changed your DNA? I knew your parents and I wanted to take my revenge on something they loved. That was you. It was just a coincidence that you were dying," she replied a smirk growing on her face.

Natasha burst from the stairs.

"I thought my parents were dead. Are you saying they're still alive?" I asked ignoring Natasha.

She walked to me and put her hand on my shoulder, "If they are, I can find them. Just join me and I…"  
I brushed her hand off of my shoulder.

"No, you're lying. Captain America said I was taken from an orphanage. That must mean my parents were already dead," she said.

She clutched me by the throat and dangled me over the edge of the roof. Dad and Thor came up behind Natasha.

"Back down Avengers," she held me out further, "or the girl becomes a red, white, and blue splatter."

I looked down at the building. There were bars against the windows. I guessed in case someone tried to escape they put bars up. I put my foot against the ledge and pushed off taking Viper with me. As we fell I grabbed a bar. My shoulder popped and not in a good way. I groaned. I pulled Viper up and hooked her shirt to the bar. I climbed back up to the roof. My shoulder had popped out of place. I got to the top and Natasha helped me up.

"Come on, your dad and Thor went down to the squad of S.H.I.E.L.D agents to help set up a perimeter. Are you ok?" she asked.

I was grabbing my shoulder, "I'll be fine. We should go."


	7. Chapter 7

Natasha led me back down the stairs and through many hallways. We finally got out to the squad. Dad had a blueprint of the building and was showing some agents where the weak spots were. Clint, Bruce, Thor, and Tony were talking with Director Fury and Agent Hill.

We walked up behind Director Fury, "Viper is hanging from some safety bars on the other side of the building. You might want to send some people to go and get her before she escapes," Natasha said.  
Director looked at me, "Are you injured?"

"Just give me a while. It doesn't hurt that bad," I lied. Honestly I felt like chopping it off, it hurt so badly.  
"Alright, Agent Hill and Agent Romanoff, you two can attend to our hanging captive," he said keeping eye contact with me.

Mariah and Natasha nodded and went toward Viper. Director took me by the arm and led me to a blue tent. There were machines lined up around the tent with someone at every machine.

"Clear out everybody; take a well deserved break," he said. They looked at one another than left. He looked at me, "What did Viper tell you and I will not let you continue lying to me about injuries; spill it."

I sighed and then said very quickly, "She-said-she-used-more-Super-Soldier-Serum-on-me-than-the-scientist-did-on-Captain-America. She-said-I-have-more-power-than-he-does. She-also-said-if-I-joined-her-she-would-find-my-real-parents. I-denied-her-offer-but-ever-since-she-mentioned-my-parents…"

"It's been eating you away." He finished my sentence. "Your parents are really dead. I've seen how Captain America raised you. I know he is not your father, but is a pretty good adopted father." I looked at the floor. "How did Viper get stuck on safety bars anyway?" he asked.

I smiled at the thought of her dangling from the bars. "She held me over the edge of the roof. I saw the bars and took her down with me. That's how I hurt my shoulder." I looked back up at him. "I grabbed the bars mid-fall."

"Which shoulder?" he asked.

I pointed to my left shoulder. He pressed against my shoulder. I cried out, but he kept pressing harder and harder before there was a huge pop.

"There, now you and Cap will invade the building and find all the Super Soldier Serum bottles and return them to our scientists."

I looked him in the eye, "You are going to have them dispose of the Serum, right."

"Right, now go meet Cap," he replied.

I knew he was lying, but I still left and looked for my dad. He was folding the blueprint and pointing toward positions for the squads. I wrapped my arms around his middle. He put an arm around me and kept pointing. Once all the squads were in position, he hugged me. He hugged me hard like he never wanted to let go.

"That was a really brave and a really stupid thing to do. You scared me half to death," he said.

I brushed away the falling tears before he could see me. "You and I are going to sit down tonight at home and discuss some things. Viper told me some stuff that has me thinking," I said.

He let out a deep breath, "Let's go, we are going to look for the Super Soldier Serum. We can't destroy it, but I'm not for sure what Fury is going to have his scientist do with it."

We started walking toward the front door. "He said he was going to have it destroyed, but his face said he was lying," I explained.

"He does that a lot," he said looking at me.

I put my hand on the door handle. I was afraid to open it. Dad nudged me with his shield. I pulled down the handle and opened the door. Nothing happened, but when I took a step forward I heard an explosion inside the building. Dad and I froze as a heat wave blasted over us. Dad pulled me close to him, shielding us with his shield.

"Fall back! There's a bomb!" He shouted.

We ran away from the building, but the explosion shoved us into the window of one of the huge black vans. Dad and I sat up and looked at the burning rubble from the building.

"There goes the Super Soldier Serum," I mumbled wiping the blood of from the cut above my brow.

Dad looked at me then back at the rubble. "Pretty much; at least they can't make any more of it."

I didn't say anything. There were many scenarios that led to the scientists making more Super Soldier Serum. I started to slide off the van, but stopped. My back really hurt. I just couldn't catch a break that day. I managed to slide off, but I just leaned against the van. Natasha and Mariah walked by with Viper.

"I guess I didn't use enough Serum on you, you're still in pain," she said.

Dad came up next to me and blocked me from Viper's view. I stared at the star on dad's chest and listened to Viper's footsteps get farther away. Dad put his arm around me and led me back to the helicarrier.


	8. Chapter 8

All the Avengers sat at the meeting table near the front of the carrier. We just sat there, not saying anything.

Tony broke the silence, "I need to call Pepper and the kids." He stood up, "I'll be right back."

Dad looked at me then back at the big window. I was scared Viper's scientist had a sample or worse a formula of how to make the Super Soldier Serum. Natasha stood up and walked over to me.

She whispered in my ear, "Come with me for a minute."

I looked at her then back dad. He continued staring out the window. I stood up and followed Natasha down the hallways of the helicarrier. She stopped at a door. She opened it and gestured me inside. I walked in and saw Viper sitting at a table. Mariah stood in the corner of the room and Natasha sat me down at the opposite end of Viper.

"You are going to interrogate Viper for us. You can ask her anything you want. Even if it's off subject," Natasha said. She walked over to Mariah and winked at me.

I looked at Viper; she looked worn out. "How old are you?"

"I don't have to answer that." She leaned forward, "Just cut to the chase, sweetheart. I know what you want to ask."

"I know what I want to ask also," I snapped. "Have you used any Super Soldier Serum on yourself?"

She looked surprised, "One bottle full, not much compared to what is coursing through you right now."  
"How long did you know my parents?" I asked as the question popped into my head.

"Since I was a little girl. They were terrible to me. I fell in love with your father, but he decided to date your mother instead. One night; the school dance, your father proposed to your mother. I was right behind your mother. She accepted and I went on with my life," she replied.

I furrowed my brow, "So, you decided to take revenge on my parents because you lost your crush?"

"I went into the field of medicine," she continued. "My boss had me handle expecting mothers. Your mother was my last patient of the day. Your father was with her and said she was in labor. So I delivered you. You were born premature. You were beautiful."

"Was beautiful, thanks, that means a lot," I said rolling my eyes.

She laughed her sick laugh, "You were and still are sweetheart. Anyways..."

"Don't... call me sweetheart," I tapped on the table with my fingers.

"Very well," she huffed, "your mother lost too much blood that day. She stayed in critical condition and you had to stay in an incubator. Some days you ate, some days you refused to. Soon enough your mother died. Your father couldn't bear to see you because you looked so much like your mother. He gave you to the orphanage and was never heard from again."

I let it all sink in. "Then, why didn't you take me from my father, instead of sending scientist to kidnap me from an orphanage?" I asked.

"I was just starting to work for Hydra then. I was not high in command at the time. It was not for me to decide to kidnap you or to ask permission over you," she replied.

"Do any of your scientists have the Super Soldier Serum? If not do they have any way of recreating it?" I continued.

"No,"was the blunt reply.

I looked at Mariah and Natasha, "They have both."

"See, if you would just let me work with your new powers."

"New powers?" I looked at her bewildered. "I can tell when people lie to me. I've known how to do that for a long time."

"You will see in time. Do you have any more questions for me or do I get to go back to my very cozy cell?" she asked eyeing me.

I looked at Natasha, "Until tomorrow, but tomorrow won't be as fun."

I stood up and left the room. I felt Viper watch me as I left. I got halfway down the hall before breaking down. I could tell, she was telling the truth about my parents. My mom is dead and my father might be dead. I wrapped my arms around myself.

"I need to talk to Tony about my 'new' powers Viper keeps talking about," I told myself.

I stood up and continued walking down the hall. I wiped away the tears. I know Tony would understand what it feels like to lose both parents. My dad would to, but I want to talk to him in private. Tony is the one person on the team that really makes me laugh. I walked to Tony's lab. He was sitting behind a desk drinking a green looking liquid.

"Tony I need…" he held up his pointer finger. I stood there waiting.

He finally put down the bottle which was now one third full. "You need me to find out if you really do have 'new'," he did the quotations in the air, "powers Viper keeps telling you about."

I walked behind his desk. He quickly slid what he was looking at to another screen before I could get to it. I glared at him then walked over to the other screen. It was a chart of some sort. I read what I could of it. It had my name and a heart beat monitor. There were other things on it, but I couldn't understand what they read.

"How is this machine keeping track of my heart?" I asked.

He stood up and walked toward the screen, "I was curious on how Viper kept track of you. So I did a little research and found; she had a tracking device implanted in your brain. The device tracks you, makes sure you're still breathing; and what environment you are in."

"Environment? As in location, environment?" I asked again.

Tony shook his head, "No, if you are in danger or starving; stuff like that."

"So, technically; I am a thirteen year old girl with a monitored brain?"

"Fourteen year old girl with a monitored brain," Tony corrected.

"My birthday isn't until Friday. I think I would know how old I was," I laughed.

"Today is Monday; your birthday was last Friday. You were knocked out for one day; than we were held captive for two more. It was a crazy start to a weekend, I'll give you that.

"I slept through my birthday and spent the rest of it in a glass cell as a prisoner," I said.

"Uh yeah, pretty much. The Avenger's birthday gift to you was becoming an Avenger," Tony said looking at me.

I looked back at him, "Thor said you guys voted for me to be on the team. Did Director Fury vote?"

"No, he just told his bosses what was going to go down." He turned back to the screen and started to zoom in and slid things back to the screen at his desk.

"This day is just getting more fun by the minute," I said and rubbed my temples.

"You came in here to see if you had new powers?" He pulled out an earpiece communicator, "Avengers, please report to the training arena. Carter is going one on two with Thor and Iron-Man."

"What if I don't have any new powers? I'll get creamed by you two!" I said motioning to his armor.

"If you don't have any new powers, this will be a training session that's all." He patted my shoulder and walked toward his armor, "Kid, we won't hurt you... that bad."

I shook my head and left. I was walking down the hall toward the training arena, when I ran into my dad.

"Did Viper tell you anything that she hasn't before?" he asked.

"She told me a lot that she hasn't before," I replied. "She had a crush on my father and he didn't love her back. I was born premature and my mother lost too much blood and soon enough died. She said much more than she has before."

He put his arm around me, "And now you are facing off Thor and Tony. I'll be down there with you. If things get too bad, I can help."

Tony walked by us in his armor, "No won't; you can sit and watch like everybody else."  
Dad said something under his breath.

"Umm, we aren't cursing are we," I asked.

"I wouldn't curse at him. He isn't worthy of cursing at," he said crossing his arms over his chest.  
I laughed and walked into the training arena. It was huge, with a boxing ring in the middle of the room. Thor stood in one corner with his arms crossed over his chest. Tony was in the other corner adjusting his armor.

Dad patted me on the back, "Show them how a girl fights."

"You make it sound so easy," I replied. I pulled down the rope and stepped into the ring. The lights were blinding.

"I do not feel certain I want to fight this maiden. I fear we might hurt her," Thor said.

"She's a super-human. She'll be fine," Tony said in his robotic voice.

"You say that now," I said. I looked at the team in the stands. Even Director was there. "So, do I take you guys on at a time, or all at once," I asked.

Thor looked at Tony.

"Both," Tony said, "at the same time. Seriously Carter, you'll be fine." He turned to the team, "Nicholas, would you come down and ref for us?"

Director stood up and walked toward the ring. I looked at dad. He looked more worried than I felt. Director stepped into the ring and leaned against the ropes.

"Start whenever you're ready, Carter," he said.

I turned to Thor; he didn't have his hammer. Tony was having a hard time with his new armor. He had to keep adjusting it. I took the first strike. I knew if Thor didn't have his hammer; he would just block my kick. So I used him as a platform and pushed off of him. I cracked Tony across the jaw and he fell back onto the ropes. Thor came up behind me took me by my belt. He threw me back onto the ropes. I pushed off of them and kicked Thor in the gut. He just stood there and I fell back. Thor grabbed my foot and threw me onto the ropes again, but they snapped and I fell to the ground.

"That's enough," Director said.

Tony stood next to Director with his mask off. Thor helped me up. I was breathing heavy. Tony and Director stepped out of the ring and Natasha and Clint stepped into the ring. Dad stepped in and stood next to me.

"Viper is refusing to talk to us. She won't answer any of our questions," Clint said.

"So instead of questioning her tomorrow, we need you to do it tonight," Natasha explained.

"And that means, being in a room alone with her. We'll be watching you guys through a window in a separate room, but you'll still be alone with her," dad said.

I looked at Natasha than at Clint, "Why are you still questioning her?"

"Her scientists may be experimenting the Super Soldier Serum on someone else. Like what they did to you," Clint said.

"Alright, but someone needs to make a list of questions for me. I suck at interrogations," I said.

They all smiled.


	9. Chapter 9

I sat across from Viper. She kept her eyes locked on me. I read the questions from the list Mariah gave me. Viper answered most of them. After I had gone through the list I asked her the questions she didn't answer.

"Where is Hydra's base?"

She her eyes narrowed, "Ask Captain America. His last battle was at my Hydra base."

"Have you kidnapped any more children to test the Super Soldier Serum on?" I continued.

"No, my scientists are destroying it as we speak. I have seen how much pain it caused you, and I didn't want that for someone else," she smiled.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"You can read facial expressions because of the Serum. You know I'm not lying," she replied still smiling.

It was true. I pushed the paper to the side, "I was hoping you could tell me what the names of my parents were. I want to see my mother's grave."

"James and Mary Carter were their names. Your father knew your great-aunt. I see why he named you Carter now. He loved your great-aunt. I bet you didn't know that he filled out an adoption form for you today. He is now your legal father. Congratulations, someone actually wanted you." She smirked at me.  
She liked to jump from subject to subject.

"No, I didn't know that. And I don't like that you told me before he had a chance to tell me. But don't think you're going to get me off track. I still have questions for you," I said and tapped the sheet of questions.

"Oh, I know," She leaned forward, "Carter Eleanor Rogers."

It started to get hard to breath. I stood up. "What… did you…do!?" I asked between gasps of breath.

Tony burst from the door started ramming off override codes. He caught me as I fell. I felt something warm running down the corners of my mouth as I coughed.

"Carter Eleanor Rogers!" Tony shouted.

I gasped, swallowed, and tasted blood. Tony helped me up and put my arm around his shoulders. He practically dragged me out of the room. I looked back at Viper; she was smiling.

After the door closed I asked Tony, "How in the world, did she do that?"

"She activated the chip on your brain. I had a screen right next to me and I saw your heart beat slowed down after she said your full name. I will be working on how to change the activation code," he replied.

"That hurt; a lot," I said rubbing my tight chest.

"Well coughing up blood is never fun. But you get used to it after awhile."

"I hope not."

Tony led me into his lab. I sat on a counter and he fussed over his work on the screens. I tried not to fall asleep on the counter. After awhile of viewing charts and working on formulas; Tony came over to me with a syringe with a brown liquid inside.

"That better not be something that will make me sick," I said.

"Would you rather choke on your own blood or be sick for one night," he asked.

I didn't say anything, just stared at the long needle. Tony stuck the needle in my arm and I braced myself for a terrible feeling to start in my stomach. And sure enough, after awhile, it happened. He sat me behind his desk with a trash can. He looked at charts, messed with his armor, and did many other things.

My dad came in and leaned against the counter, "How did Viper implant something on her brain? She never left our sight while we were captive."

"She probably put it piece by piece into her by injections." Tony nodded toward the syringe he just used on me.

Dad looked at me. I was smoothing back my ponytail looking at the trash can. I looked back up at him, "Viper told me about the…"

"Papers; yeah, I know. I was listening." Tony looked over his shoulder at us. "I was going to tell you, but she beat me to it."

"I guessed as much," I tore the edges of the trash bag as we talked.

"It took me five hours just to fill out the papers and turn them in," he said sitting on the desk.

"Why did you do it?" I asked.

"Fill out the papers?" Dad looked at me confused.

"Yeah." I stopped tearing the trash bag.

He looked at the floor, "I never felt right about calling myself a dad, even though I had you. I never legally adopted you, so I didn't legally have a daughter. I didn't legally have you," he looked up at me, "and that didn't sit right with me."

"But, why adopt Carter now? Why didn't you do it sooner," Tony asked.

"I wouldn't let him," I said. The terrible feeling in my stomach faded a little. "I was afraid if he turned in the paper work without me, officials would think he was the one who took me from the orphanage when I was younger."

Bruce ran into the room. He was out of breath and slightly green. "Loki broke Viper out of the containment unit."

Everything froze except me. Loki and Viper stood behind Bruce. Viper pushed Bruce over and walked to me. I pressed the intercom button underneath Tony's desk. Anything Viper or Loki said, Fury would hear it.

"We are leaving," Viper stated bluntly.

"Bye," I waved at them and smiled.

"Foolish mortal, you are coming with us," Loki said slamming his scepter on the floor. My body went numb and I fell into Tony's chair releasing the intercom button.

Loki gripped my wrist and closed his eyes. We went through what looked like a rainbow colored tunnel, making my bones feel like jello. We landed in a large mansion. I fell to my knees while Viper and Loki exchanged glances.

"This mortal is your lethal weapon? I expected more than this. Honestly, do you even know the meaning of lethal?" Loki asked.

"She may seem weak now, but my scientists have more serum to give her. She will be able to crush the Avengers and any other team that tries to take Hydra down." Viper said making fists at her side.

Loki knelt in front of me and placed his left hand on my forehead. His eyes started to turn red and his hand tinted blue. My mind was erased of everything. My name, age, family, friends, and even my captors name slipped out of my head. Loki took the memories too quickly from my mind. I collapsed on his shoulder.

"What...why did she do that?" A woman with a thick german accent stood next to the man I fell on.

"Her mind is weak from transporting. I thought you said this wouldn't be the first time she went through a portal." The man looked at the woman.

"She was young then and didn't know what to think. Can you put the memories in her head now?" She asked.

I was too weak to ask questions I so dearly wanted answered. The man smelled of fresh rain and the woman seemed obsessed with the color green. The man shook his head, "She is too weak, she could go into a coma if I put the memories in her mind now."

He rubbed the tips of my hair between his fingers as the woman walked away. The man picked me up in his arms and took went up the stairs. The room he left me in was small, but comfy looking. The walls where deep green with a black octopus in the center of the wall. The twin size bed had all white sheets that looked pretty thin.

The man laid me on the bed and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. I took in all the details (though there weren't many) about the room. As I lay on the bed, my brain started to pound in my skull. A picture of a man and woman laid on the floor, dead. A man dressed in red, white, and blue stood over them with blood splattered across his face. I screamed out for help over and over again, but no one replied my call. My vision started to blur and the room spun. I squeezed my eyes shut and passed out


	10. Chapter 10

The headlights to mother and father's car disappeared from sight. Everything about me shouted with joy. I ran to the loose window and pulled it out of its place. I climbed out and ran as fast as I could away from the prison I call home. Father locked all the windows before he left, but didn't notice I had been loosening the screws on a window to make my big escape.

I found the biggest tree in a huge field of wildflowers. I climbed it and relaxed on one of its limbs. The stormy grey clouds rolled in, looking like they could explode from all the rain they held.

_"Man, if mother and father saw me now. They would most likely kill me. At least mother would, father might defend me. He rarely ever does anymore."_ I thought to myself.

Lightning streaked the sky and thunder shook the ground. The first day out of the house in weeks and the weather had to be bad. I was forced to climbed down the tree and sulk back to my prison. I screwed the bolts back into place just as mother started to open the door. I threw myself into the rocking chair and acted as though I was bored out of my mind.

Mother looked mad and in way scared. "Why did you leave this house?"

"Where would you get that idea? I have been sitting in this chair thinking of what to do in this prison." I rocked back and forth in the rocking chair.

Her face hardened even more. "You tripped a silent alarm outside."

"How long have we had those," I asked leaning forward in the chair.

"Ever since we bought this house. Young lady!" Mother stomped her foot, "you know your father and I don't want you out of the house, EVER!"

My blood boiled, but I didn't show it. Where was father?

"I wouldn't have tripped the alarm if you let me out of this prison once in a blue moon."

Father came in my room and sat on my bed.

Mother glanced at him then continued her rampage, "We keep you in the house for a reason."

"It must be a hell of a good reason, because you won't tell me what it is!" I yelled.

Father stood up from my bed and looked me straight in the eye, "You don't need to know the reason, you should just trust us."

I shook my head at him.

"Wait," mother lowered her voice, "maybe she is old enough to know our reason."

Father gave her a look like she was crazy.

"Loki, leave us," mother demanded.

He hesitated, but still left. Once the door shut behind father, mother lunged at me. She grabbed my hair and threw me onto the ground and started kicking me. I cried out in pain and tried my best to avoid her kicks.

"NO ONE DISOBEYS ME AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!" She screamed.

"Please," I cried, "stop... I'm sorry! I won't do it ever again!"

She stopped beating me and held the collar of my shirt.

"You are very right. I will not allow you to leave this house. Even if it means killing you here," she hissed.

She threw me back onto the ground and stormed out of my room. She gave me a bloody nose and had bruised my ribs. I slowly rose to my feet and hobbled into the bathroom. I pulled my shirt up to look at my bruises. Already they were turning blue and purple. I broke into tears. Mother has beaten me before, but not this hard. Father would normally step in and stop her. I slowly and painfully walked back into my bedroom. The blinds were still pulled soft grass and cool breeze was so inviting, then I remembered mother's threat. I sat on my bed and buried my face into my pillow. I prayed my suffering with my mother would end soon. Little did I know that the Avengers had located me and were right outside my front door.


	11. Chapter 11

I decided to ignore mother's threat and had packed my three outfits into a bag one of mother's guards had given me. He said he would tell mother that I committed suicide so I could escape the house. I had my doubts, but I wasn't going to give up a chance to leave this horrid place. I started unscrewing the bolts on the window frame when father walked into my room.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?" I asked annoyed.

"Your mother wants to see you," he said bluntly.

"If she wants to see me, she can come to me," I said hoping he would leave.

His gaze hardened.

"She said she wanted you..." he started.

"I know what she wants, but I am not going to see her," I crossed my arms under my chest.

"Do not be rude to me," he hissed.

I stood up and placed my hands on my hips. "Oh, I guess I should treat the man who let his wife beat his own daughter with respect he doesn't deserve. Yeah right," I snapped back.

"What did you want me to do? I was about to stop her, but she was done hurting you by then," he defended himself.

"I wanted you to comfort me. I didn't want you to stand outside my door and listen to me cry myself to sleep," my voice softened. My hands fell to my sides.

Father's gaze softened, "How did you know I..."

"I didn't," I looked at him with watery eyes, "but I had a hunch."

"Why do you depend on me so much?" he asked.

I shrugged, "You don't beat me for one thing, but you also are there for me. You stopped mother's beatings every time except today. I depend on you because you love me. Mother doesn't love me."

Father nodded then turned and left me. I wiped my eyes and returned to my escape. One screw, two screws, my fingers started shaking. I was so close to being rid of this terrible place. Three, four screws, finally! I ripped the window pane off, not caring how much noise I was making. I slid my bag onto my shoulder and stepped out of my room and into the real world. The grass was still green and lush, but the tree was starting to lose its leaves. I didn't mind, I wasn't going to climb it, I was going to run away from it. I saw mother and father's van.

"Should I take it?" I asked myself.

A twig crunched in the distance. I jumped at the noise and looked around. I didn't see anyone. I continued walking toward the van, but kept looking over my shoulder. Suddenly, I heard mother scream from my bedroom and then the wall blew into millions of pieces. I yanked on the handle viciously. I had to punch in a code to get the door unlocked.

"What's the code?" I pounded my fist on my forehead. "My birthdate possibly?"

I typed it in and the car door unlocked. I almost burst into tears of relief. Never had mother looked so angry as she held father's scepter. I climbed to the very back of the van. Three green blankets were tossed on the floor. I laid down and covered my self. Footsteps walked around the car. There were too many steps to be one person. I cautiously looked out the back window and saw six people. All dressed quite weird. They stormed up to the front of the house. After they left, I climbed out of the back of the van, only to have my hair yanked by my mother.

"I will kill you, you ungrateful little..."

"That's enough Viper," a robotic voice said.

A robot walked up to mother and took my hair out of her grasp. She seemed stunned. The robot seemed to know me. It kept pulling me away from mother. Even if I did hate my mother's guts, I felt like I needed to be away from this thing. I stopped at shrugged its hand off my shoulder.

"Carter," it said surprised, "what are you doing?"

Father appeared next to mother and yanked me behind him. Many Hydra soldiers filed in behind us.  
"Stay back, Carter. These people wish to take you away from us," mother said and blocked my view of the people.  
"Loki, hand over Lady Rogers and we will leave in peace." The voice sounded Asgardian.

"Oh brother, she does not know who you are anymore," father said. "Wouldn't that be terrible if war broke and she did not know what to do?"

"We can train her again and work with her to remind her who she really is. At least let us see her," the voice was female.

Father tightened his grip on his scepter, "Leave us before you wage a battle!"

"That doesn't scare us," that voice lingered in my head.

His voice sounded the most familiar. I peaked over mother's shoulder. Five men and one woman stood in a line facing my parents. One was very big and green. Another had long blond hair and a hammer. I guessed he was the Asgardian. The woman was in all black and her hair was red. She had to be a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. A man had an arrow pulled back in a bow at his side. I had always wanted to use a bow and arrow! Another man was in a suit of armor. But it was the last man that really stood out to me. He was so familiar, but I couldn't tell where I had seen him before. He was wearing red, white, and blue. Blue is my favorite color. Maybe that's why he stood out to me. The Asgardian saw me. My father grabbed my wrist and pulled me back out of sight.

"Leave," father whispered. "Go to your room."

I turned and ran through the squad of many Hydra soldiers and ran into the house. An arrow sprang from the door. I covered my head and kept running. I opened the door to my room and slammed it shut behind me.

"Stay calm, Carter, you'll be fine. Mother and father had a huge squad of Hydra soldiers waiting for that group of people," I told myself.

Mother ran into my room. She took me by the shoulder and pushed me into my closet and shut the door. The lights went out. I crawled to the corner and hugged my knees. I heard my mother yell at me to stay put, quietness for five more minutes. I didn't even hear the Avenger's footsteps.

"Carter, come out of your hiding place," the Asgardian requested.

A robotic voice said, "She's in the closet."

I was close to tears. I was scared and alone. Then I heard the most familiar voice, the red, white, and blue man.

"Guys, let me do this," he said.

The door opened, but he didn't walk in. His shield slid in and hit my foot. The red, white, and blue pattern was so neat. I ran my hand along the stripes of color and traced the star with my finger. He walked in and shut the door behind him.

"Carter Eleanor Rogers is your full name. You are fourteen, an only child, and an Avenger." He said the latter more heartily than the rest of his sentence. "You and I are a duo. Viper and Loki put lies in your head; you are not their daughter. Viper had a whole back story to why she put lies in your head, but I'm not going to bore you with that now," he continued.

I grinned, "Not now, but later, right?"

"Right," he laughed. "You and I go to church almost every Sunday, but the most important thing is; you are my daughter. I've watched you grow up since you were three years old."

Images flooded my head of what he was talking about. He was telling the truth, I could tell.

"Tell me something obvious about me, something... someone else may have already pointed out," I tested him.

"You can read faces. You can tell if someone is giving you false information or not. Viper pointed that out during an interrogation with you,"he replied.

I guessed it was true. I wasn't sure about the interrogation part, but moth… Viper did like to point that out.

"How about, tell me something... only a father would know, things that I do not really knowing about it," I said.

He paused in thought then said, "When you are in deep thought, you either pull on your hair or bite your lip."

I laughed, it was true.

"Alright, I believe you," I said.

I stood from the shadows and picked up the shield. An image that Viper had put there flashed in my head. It was Captain America standing over the dead bodies of my parents. I hesitated handing it to him. I pulled it to my chest and ran my hand along the rim.

"Did you kill my parents?" I asked.

He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes, "No, your mother died because Viper didn't take care of her then hunted down your father and had him killed. Viper and Loki are the bad guys, not me."

I handed him the shield.

"I believe you, but I want to hear it from Viper," I said.

I walked out of my closet. The agent and the iron knight held Loki and Viper. The archer held Loki's scepter.

"Can you put the end of the scepter on Viper's heart, please?" I asked.

The archer looked at Captain America then he looked back at me and nodded. He flipped the scepter and placed it on Viper's heart. Her eyes turned ghost white.

"Did you send someone to kill my biological father?" I asked.

"Yes, the man is dead now," Viper replied.

"Are they buried in a cemetery?" I persisted.

"No."

Her facial expression stayed blank, so I couldn't I tell if she lying. Judging by her white eyes, I had to think the scepter was working. I nodded to the archer and he pulled the scepter away. Loki murmured something under his breath and the walls came to life. They took the forms of two massive men. Both of them grabbed my hands and held me in the air. The agent still had Viper, but the iron knight had a copy of Loki. Loki's scepter began to glow and three frost giants from Jotunheim came through a portal. The archer threw down the scepter and pulled his bow out of his quiver.

"Amuse me and kill the Avengers," Loki told the frost giants.

Frozen weapons appeared in their hands and charged toward the Avengers. The Avengers were ready. Two giants ganged up on Thor, but Captain America helped him. The third giant was fighting the Hulk while arrows and bullets sprayed his arms and legs from the archer and agent. Loki stood to the side of me.

"Did you mean what you said," he asked watching the Avengers fight.

"What do you mean?" I asked trying to wriggle out of the wall monster's hands.

"Did you mean what you said that you depend on me." He looked at me, "Did you mean what you said?"

"I meant every word. Fath… Loki, you think because you are from Jotunheim you need to destroy your past which means destroying or taking over Jotunheim and all the other realms. Just because your real father did terrible things doesn't mean you have to."

He pursed his lips and kept eye contact with me. Captain America shouted something, but I couldn't understand him. The other Avengers did and took down two of the frost giants. The last one saw me talking to Loki and thought I was captive of Loki. His pace quickened as he got closer to me. Loki and I didn't see him until the last second. He plunged his frozen dagger into my stomach and then yanked it from my body. The wall monsters let me go and I fell to the ground clutching my fatal wound. Blood seeped from between my fingers and onto the floor. I started to shake violently. Loki rushed to my side and turned the frost giant into snow.

"Hold on, Carter," he whispered.

He held his hand over my wound. Blood from my shirt floated in the air and I felt the wound start to close.

The Asgardian looked down at me, "Loki, you've gone…"

"Soft, I know. I'm not proud of it," Loki said annoyed.

The world around me started to get brighter. The lights were warm and soothing. Dying isn't always as someone describes in a movie. Your life doesn't zoom by you and pictures of happy times don't pop in your head at the last second. Then again, dying might be different for different people. The warm light seemed to consume me and blocked the Avengers from my sight. I fought hard and long not to give into to the warmth, but soon I gave in.


End file.
